Cape Town - Death in African cultures is never celebrated, no matter how evil the deceased person might have been. But Nomvuzo Atoli’s family is breathing a sigh of relief following reports of the death of Sive Mpafa, who confessed to killing their daughter last year.
According to the police, Mpafa was shot and killed last month in Siyanyanzela informal settlement in Browns Farm, Philippi.
Police spokesperson Warrant Officer Joseph Swartbooi said police found him with a gunshot wound to his head.
“The 30-year-old victim was declared deceased on the scene by the medical personnel. The motive for the attack is unknown,” said Swartbooi.
The Weekend Argus reported in May that Mpafa was released on May 12 after post-mortem results had not been made available, eight months after he was arrested in a hideout in the Eastern Cape.
“Maybe it was God’s plan that he be released,” said Nomvuzo’s mother Ntombizandile.
“God sees where we cannot see. Maybe the post-mortem results would have come back and the docket would have long been lost. I have lost faith in both the police and the justice system.”
Atoli’s body was found at a landfill site in the Siyanyanzela informal settlement in August last year.
During his first appearance, the prosecution told the court that Mpafa confessed that he repeatedly hit Nomvuzo on her head with a brick.
At the time of his arrest, Mpafa had been released from jail on another murder charge, which was provisionally withdrawn due to the death of a witness.
“He never tried to scare or come close to us after his release but we did not let our guard down. We had questions that what if the results come back and prove that it’s him then he comes after us?
“They should have kept him in jail because he confessed, criminals have more rights than victims in this country. I wanted to see the case finalised but there is nothing that can be done now as he is no more,” said Atoli’s mother.
Siya Monakali, of Ilitha Labantu, a local NGO which promotes women’s rights, said DNA backlogs at the SAPS laboratories were posing a significant challenge for gender-based violence cases and as a result denying victims, survivors and their families justice.
“As a nation, we are failing on our commitments to ensure that proper measures are in place to fight the scourge of gender-based violence.
“The government needs to find alternative measures to mitigate against such delays, we are also concerned that suspects involved in such cases will most likely be released out into society and commit similar offences, this situation needs to be addressed urgently,” said Monakali.
Dr Rineé Pretorius, from civil rights organisation Action Society, said the government’s response in clearing the DNA backlog was too slow and the latest issue hindering progress is the delay in procurement of materials, as purchase orders are taking too long to be issued by the Treasury.
“We have on many occasions proposed a public-private partnership. Why not launch a pilot project with a few private laboratories using the same standard operating procedures and chemistry to test the feasibility of a public-private partnership?
“Government must make use of the expertise available in the private sector to assist them in sorting out the backlog and to ensure that there is continued functionality of systems that are crucial to achieve successful conviction of violent criminals,” she said.
Weekend Argus